BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Not even the oxygen-depleted high altitude of Colorado could slow lightweight sparkplug Clay Guida, whose up-tempo and overtimes-smothering offensive attack earned him a victory over Shannon Gugerty in the featured preliminary-card fight of UFC on Versus 1.

The event took place at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo., and preceded Versus’ first-ever broadcast of an Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

Of the night’s seven preliminary-card fights, two featured notable Colorado natives. One picked up an impressive knockout victory while the other’s night was cut short by a gruesome injury.

Unfortunately for Gugerty, he got to display little of either. Guida, a fan favorite looking to rebound from back-to-back losses to top contenders Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez, quickly took the fight to the mat and unloaded ground and pound from all angles. Gugerty did what he could from his back and implemented a few submission attempts, but Guida’s loaded gas tank allowed him to easily power out of each attempt.

It also allowed Guida to stay active from the top throughout the first round and after a hip-toss takedown early in the second. Gugerty attempted an arm-in guillotine from his back, but without the position to torque the hold, he was forced to let it go. Guida then unloaded dozens of shorts punches to the head and body as his opponent remained pinned against the canvas and fence. Ultimately, when Gugerty tried to circle out of the troublesome position, Guida slapped on an arm-triangle choke that forced a tap-out at the 3:40 mark of the round.

With the win, Guida pushes his UFC record over the .500 mark (6-5) and his overall mark to 26-11. Gugerty drops to 12-5 (2-3 in the UFC).

In the preliminary-card co-feature, Vladimir Matyushenko picked up his 11th win in 12 fights – even if he didn’t win many fans in the process.

The light-heavyweight used a stick-and-move gameplan and avoided prolonged exchanges with opponent Eliot Marshall. It prompted frequent booing from fans and often left Marshall frustrated as he was forced to stalk after his opponent during much of the second half of the fight.

Despite the constant moving, Matyushenko did land some quality shots, including a straight right in the first round that briefly wobbled Marshall. That defense-oriented gameplan left Marshall unable to mount any type of extended attack, and the chasing slowed as Matyushenko’s many leg kicks began to take a toll.

The performance earned Matyushenko all three rounds on two judges’ cards (30-27), but the third scored the fight in Marshall’s favor, 29-28. The split-decision win moves Matyushenko to 24-4 overall and 5-2 in the UFC, including 2-0 in his most recent UFC stint. Marshall, who entered the fight with three straight wins in the octagon, drops to 8-2 overall and 3-1 in the UFC since his appearance on “The Ultimate Fighter 8.”

In one of the night’s featured preliminary-card matchups, fans – and Colorado native Duane “Bang” Ludwig – suffered a disappointment when injury brought about a quick end to his fight with UFC newcomer Darren Elkins.

After shaking off a few takedown attempts, Ludwig wasn’t as effective on the third and was sent to the canvas. However, on the way down, his ankle stuck to the mat and twisted grotesquely under his own weight. Elkins quickly realized something was wrong and backed away from his ailing opponent.

Referee Tim Mills took a quick look and then waved off the fight just 44 seconds after its start due to the left-ankle injury.

It wasn’t how Elkins, a late replacement for injured Spencer Fisher, wanted to win the fight. Still, it followed a recent win over former UFC fighter Gideon Ray and moved his record to 12-1 (1-0 UFC). Ludwig, meanwhile, falters to 19-11 (2-2 in the UFC) with his third loss in four fights.

Fast-rising UFC welterweight John Howard didn’t get to fight arch rival Anthony Johnson as he had hoped, but he battered replacement fighter Daniel Roberts with the same ferociousness.

Roberts, an NAIA All-American and accomplished jiu-jitsu competitor, immediately put his opponent on the defensive and made Howard fight off one submission attempt – guillotine, kimura, omoplata – after another. But forcing the fight to the mat and taking top position, Howard stood to his feet, dove in with a left hand, and knocked Roberts out cold with the single punch.

Howard immediately continued with an unneeded follow-up shot and attempted another before referee Tom Johnson could pull him away from his unconscious opponent at the 2:01 mark of the first round.

A few uncomfortable minutes then passed as Roberts lay on the mat motionless. Although he eventually came to, Roberts needed assistance to leave the cage and make it backstage.

The victory, which followed Howard’s brutal come-from-behind knockout win of Dennis Hallman in December, moves his overall record to 14-4 and a perfect 4-0 in the UFC. Robers, meanwhile, is tagged with his first career loss and drops to 9-1 (0-1 UFC).

Prior to the Howard fight, the night’s early candidate for “Knockout of the Night” honors came from “The Ultimate Fighter 10″ runner-up Brendan Schaub, picked up his first official UFC victory in dominant fashion with a brutal first-round knockout of Chase Gormley.

Feeding off a crowd of fellow Coloradans, Schaub overwhelmed his opponent from the opening bell, dropped him within seconds of the bout’s start, and then sent him face first into the mat with a subsequent exchange mere seconds later. One more knockdown and a half dozen follow-up rights made for a quick, 47-second TKO victory for Schaub.

Schaub, a former member of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and AFL’s Utah Blaze, has now posted every one of his wins via knockout since a move to pro MMA. But he admitted that Gormley’s striking prowess had him concerned.

“I was really worried about Chase’s boxing, so I worked hard on it,” he said.

Schaub, who suffered a KO loss to Roy Nelson in the TUF 10 Finale back in December, moves to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the UFC. Gormley, now at risk of getting his UFC contract terminated, drops to 6-2 overall and 0-2 in the UFC.

Paulino, a late replacement for injured Rob Kimmons, couldn’t use his clear reach advantage, nor could he overcome his opponent’s takedowns. Pierce provided a steady stream of ground and pound from the top, and with an inability to escape from the troublesome positions, Paulino found his UFC debut to be a frustrating one.

In the end, all three judges scored the lopsided affair in Pierce’s favor, 30-27.

Aside from a close but unanimous-decision loss to Jon Fitch in December, Pierce (11-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is undefeated over his past eight fights, which included an upset of Brock Larson in his 2009 UFC debut. Paulino, meanwhile, falls to 17-3 (0-1 UFC) and snaps a seven-fight win streak.

In the night’s opening bout, former NCAA Division I wrestler Jason Brilz overcame some early trouble and proved better prepared for Colorado’s elevation to earn a unanimous-decision win over fellow light heavyweight Eric Schafer.

Schafer, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, used a wild first-round standup exchange to wobble Brilz and narrowly missed a flying knee that could have put his opponent away for good. Brilz, though, survived and took advantage as Schafer noticeably tired in the second half of the fight.

The judges scored the final two rounds, including a dominant third, for Brilz, who earned the unanimous decision via scores of 29-28.

Brilz (18-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has now suffered just one loss – a split-decision defeat to Marshall at UFC 103 in September – in his past 15 fights. Schafer, meanwhile, (11-5-2 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has dropped back-to-back losses following a career-high four-fight win streak.

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